What is the day of Pentecost?

This name which signifies 'fiftieth' is found only in the N.T.: it corresponds to the FEAST OF WEEKS. From the waving of the sheaf of firstfruits fifty days were counted, and on the day after the seven sabbaths the feast was kept. A new meat offering of two loaves baken with leaven was offered; also seven lambs, one bullock, and two rams for a burnt offering, with their meat and drink offerings "even an offering made by fire of sweet savour unto the Lord." Also one kid of the goats for a sin offering; and two lambs for a peace offering. It was proclaimed a holy convocation, in which no servile work was to be done. Lev. 23:15-21. The Israelites came with their free-will offerings unto Jehovah, according as He had blessed them. See OFFERINGS.

The Feast of Weeks--After seven Sabbaths had passed by, fifty days counted, a new meal offering was brought and two wave loaves baken with leaven. This is the feast of Pentecost (named on account of the fifty days). It is also called the feast of weeks, as seven weeks had passed by. Exactly fifty days after the waving of the firstfruits, on the morrow of the Sabbath, when Christ arose, the Holy Spirit came down out of heaven to form the church on earth. The meal offering as we saw in the first part of the book is the type of Christ in His perfect humanity. Pure flour, oil mingled with it, and oil poured upon it. Here is a new meal offering. It does not typify Christ, but those who are one with Him, His believing people. The oil, the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost upon them, as the oil was poured upon the meal offering.

"And ye shall count from the morning after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave-offering, seven weeks; they shall be complete; even unto the morning after the seventh sabbath shall ye count fifty days; and ye shall present a new oblation to Jehovah. Out of your dwelling shall ye bring two wave-loaves and of two tenths of fine flour; with leaven shall they be baken; [as] first-fruits to Jehovah."

Fifty days after the resurrection day, after the waving of the first-fruits, the wave-sheaf, was another feast of which we find the fulfilment also in the New Testament. If we take the Greek exactly, it says in Acts 2, verse 1 'And when the feast of the fiftieth was fulfilled', the fifty days mentioned here, seven weeks plus one day, the day of Pentecost. Pentecost is simply the Greek word for 'fifty'. The day of Pentecost was the fulfilling of the feast of the weeks which was to take place seven weeks after the presenting of the firstfruits, this wave sheaf and when we go to the New Testament and ask what was the meaning, what happened on this day of Pentecost, we see that it was the foundation day of the assembly.

The sheaf of the firstfruits was waved before the Lord on the first day of the week. Then seven weeks were to pass until, on the fiftieth day (also a first day of the week) was the celebration of Pentecost (meaning “fifty”). Then “a new grain offering” was to be offered to the Lord. This signifies in some sense a new beginning, for it was on this day (fifty days after the resurrection of Christ) that the Spirit of God came to indwell believers (Acts 2) and to begin the marvelous formation of the Church in unity on earth.

(Lev. 23:15-16). This feast is called in Exodus 34:22 and elsewhere "The feast of weeks," and in the Acts "The day of Pentecost." As in the case of the previous feasts, the New Testament clearly brings out what God had in mind in calling our attention to the feast of weeks. There was the literal fulfilling of the seven sabbaths after the resurrection of Christ till the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. On this day, separated from the waving of the sheaf of firstfruits by fifty days, yet intimately connected with it, a new meat offering was to be offered to Jehovah.

The Jewish feast of Pentecost may be called the birthday of the Christian church. It was also the anniversary of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai, though it does not appear that a day was observed by the Jews in commemoration of the event. Fifty days after our Lord's resurrection the church was formed — its history commenced. The Old Testament saints form no part of the New Testament church. It had no existence in fact until the day of Pentecost.

There is the peculiar expression of fulness here, such as we hear of nowhere else. This feast only is marked out by seven sabbaths intervening It is the feast of weeks, but among the Hellenists or Greek-speaking Jews, the number fifty, as is well known, has given the name to this feast, which is therefore called "Pentecost." What then was fulfilled when the day of Pentecost was fully come? The Father made good His promise, that incomparable promise of which the Lord Himself had said, "It is expedient for you that I go away." What could outweigh the blessedness of His presence with His disciples on earth? The gift of another Advocate, not merely gifts but Himself baptizing them, no longer in hope but accomplished in fact.

This is still further emphasised, for the word, Pentecost, comes from the Greek word, pentēkostē meaning fiftieth. This then was the morrow after the sabbath, the fiftieth day after our Lord rose from the dead, and the great day of the church’s birthday and endowment, and of its being presented to God. The two loaves presented to Jehovah typified that the church is made up of Jewish and Gentile believers, hitherto irreconcilable elements, but now one in Christ; the middle wall of partition being broken down in His death, and Christ being their peace. This is one of the great themes of the Epistle to the Ephesians. (See Ephesians 2:13-22.)

Now look at the Wave Loaves: "And ye shall count to you from the morrow after the Sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven Sabbaths shall be complete: even to the morrow after the seventh Sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering to the Lord" (Lev. 23:15-16). There we reach the day of Pentecost, which is the fiftieth day after the waving of the sheaf of first-fruits. Then we read. "Ye shall bring out of your habitation two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the first-fruits to the Lord" (ver. 17). Here we have in type the day of Pentecost, and what originated then. There was a new meat offering of two wave loaves baken with leaven. In Acts 2 we have the antitype — God's people gathered together by the Holy Ghost, and presented before Him in connection with all the preciousness of Christ in life, death, and resurrection. The passover is His death; the wave sheaf His resurrection; the two wave loaves baken on the fiftieth day — the Holy Ghost forming the Church of God.

The Feast of Pentecost was to be celebrated on "the morrow after the seventh Sabbath," with its special meaning of "the first day of the week," the great day of this Christian dispensation, as the Sabbath was of Judaism. Moreover it was to take place fifty days after the Wave Sheaf was waved before the Lord.

What great event happened fifty days after Christ rose from the dead? The very word, Pentecost (Greek, Pentecoste, means fiftieth), points to that great happening described in Acts 2:1-13. We know how our Lord remained on this earth forty days after His resurrection, and before His ascension. The disciples were to tarry at Jerusalem until they were "endued with power from on high" (Luke 2:49). "And when the day of Pentecost [the fiftieth day] was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from Heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:1-4).

On the day of Pentecost, "the morrow after the Sabbath," "the first day of the week," fifty days after our Lord rose from the dead, the great event took place of the bestowal of the Holy Spirit to be in this world as He had never been before. Indwelling each believer, it was the glorious day of the Church's birth. On that day the Church was constituted. The mystery hid from all ages emerged in the sight of a triumphant Head in Heaven, even our Lord Jesus Christ, and believers on earth were indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, thus linking each believer with the Head in Heaven, and with each other as members of the one Body on earth. "There is one Body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling" (Eph. 4:4). "Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (Eph. 5:25-27).